East Chicago firefighters have secured a $1.2 million settlement after a five-year legal battle over claims that city officials retaliated against union members for exercising their First Amendment rights.
Members of International Association of Fire Fighters Local 365 in East Chicago, Indiana, will receive damages and attorney fees under the settlement, which resolves a federal lawsuit alleging the city punished firefighters for political activity tied to the 2019 mayoral election.
The dispute began in 2019, when Local 365 endorsed an opponent of incumbent Mayor Anthony Copeland. The union had criticized cost-cutting measures that froze firefighter pay and benefits and, according to the union, left the department under-resourced.
“No firefighter should face retaliation for speaking up about public safety,” IAFF General President Edward Kelly said. “Local 365 was right to fight back. This settlement is a hard-fought victory for them, and the IAFF was proud to stand with our East Chicago members to defend their rights.”
The IAFF said the city’s earlier cost-cutting actions included abolishing terminal leave, freezing longevity pay and grade pay, and eliminating leave-bank payouts for firefighters hired after 2010.
Copeland was re-elected, while six Common Council candidates endorsed by Local 365 also won seats. Several firefighters later protested at Copeland’s inauguration, an action the mayor described as “disrespectful.”
In August 2019, Local 365 President David Mata and members of the Common Council drafted a salary ordinance intended to restore some benefits that had been frozen in 2010. The ordinance passed 5-4, but Copeland vetoed it, and there were not enough votes to override the veto.
Soon afterward, the mayor and the city changed firefighters from a traditional 24/48 schedule to a rotating eight-hour swing shift. Under that schedule, firefighters worked an eight-hour day shift followed by 24 hours off, then an eight-hour evening shift followed by 24 hours off, then an eight-hour overnight shift followed by 24 hours off, before the cycle repeated.
The city also removed beds from at least one firehouse, saying the move was a COVID-19 safety precaution and that beds were no longer needed because firefighters were working eight-hour shifts.
Mata said at the time that he believed the schedule change and removal of beds were retaliation for the union raising concerns about public safety.
According to the union, the schedule was imposed without a feasibility study or meaningful discussion with firefighters about its potential effect on emergency response capabilities or recovery time between shifts.
“The only things this union has ever sought are fair wages, benefits, and safe working conditions,” Mata said. “And these actions taken by the city felt like punishment for speaking up when those basic needs were not being met. We appreciate everything the IAFF, 8th District Vice President Mark Sanders, and the Professional Fire Fighters Union of Indiana has done and continues to do to assist us through this fight.”
Local 365’s case was approved for IAFF Guardian Policy coverage, and the union filed suit in May 2021 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. The lawsuit alleged that the new schedule was punitive retaliation connected to union political activity and support for Copeland’s opponent.
In a related proceeding, a federal district court issued a preliminary injunction ordering the city to restore the 24/48 schedule while the First Amendment case continued. The city appealed, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the injunction in December 2022.
Litigation in the First Amendment case continued until May 2026, when a mediator proposed a settlement that both sides accepted.
“The IAFF will always stand by its members as they fight to protect their rights, wages, and benefits,” 8th District Vice President Mark Sanders said. “I appreciate all the support provided by the IAFF and the PFFUI. And I commend President Mata for continuing to stand up to the injustices dealt by the mayor.”
